Rest & Reconnect During Winter

By MOTHER EARTH NEWS staff
Updated on November 5, 2024
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Winter is upon us; reconnect with your homestead after many months of harvesting with these winter projects and ideas.

The hay is stacked in the barn, the shed is full of dry wood, and the pantry shelves are lined with jars of food from the garden. Soon, the snow will fly and cover everything in an insulating blanket. The sheep have their own woolly blankets and a warm shelter to escape from the wind. The shorter, colder days draw us inward and invite us to rest.

Have you ever noticed that the hard work of a garden or homestead makes the quieter season of early winter extra welcome? We plant, tend, and harvest through the heat of summer and fall, and now it’s time to rest and enjoy the harvest. It’s also a wonderful time to assess where you’ve been and dream of where you want to go next. Whether you’re in the city, the country, or somewhere in between, we’ve got some ideas to inspire you.

For starters, we hope that “Foods Not to Refrigerate” will encourage you to try new methods of food preservation – winter is a great time of year to tend a jar of yogurt on your countertop or experiment with bubbly ferments. (And it’s also a great time to keep things cold without a refrigerator.)
While you’re in the kitchen, you might be craving comfort foods, and we’ve got you covered: “Beer Beef Stew Recipe” details how to use alcohol to flavor cold-weather meals and treats.

Once the holidays pass, garden season begins. As we enter the new year, it feels like it’s officially time to start planning. Who else loves paging through garden catalogs and planning your garden? “Grow Amazing Alliums” will help you grow a year’s worth of your own onions, and “Sowing Resilient and Culturally Relevant Seeds” highlights some good varieties to consider. “Starting Seeds vs Buying Plants” will help you know which seeds to start indoors and which to sow outdoors. And for those days when you do have to venture outdoors, “How to Layer Winter Clothes” gives tips on dressing effectively in winter.

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